After making his debut with the big club last September, the Indians are giving Francisco Mejía plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents in Spring Training.Facing Rockies starter Jon Gray in the third inning on Friday afternoon, the Tribe's top prospect sized up a fastball and cracked a no-doubter over
After making his debut with the big club last September, the Indians are giving Francisco Mejía plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents in Spring Training.
Facing Rockies starter Jon Gray in the third inning on Friday afternoon, the Tribe's top prospect sized up a fastball and cracked a no-doubter over the right field fence for a three-run shot en route to an 8-5 victory in Scottsdale, Arizona. The homer was the second of the spring for Mejia, who is 8-for-18 (.444) with two doubles and seven RBIs through 10 Cactus League games.
MLB.coms No. 11 overall prospect added a double and a single as the Indians' designated hitter.
The 22-year-old made the leap to the Majors from Double-A Akron last season after batting .297/.346/.490 with 14 homers and 52 RBIs in 92 Eastern League games. He played 72 games behind the plate and has split time as a backstop and designated hitter this spring.
Rockies No. 2 prospectRyan McMahon doubled, singled and scored a run in four at-bats. The No. 41 overall prospect improved his Cactus League average to .368. Top prospect Brendan Rodgers entered as a pinch-runner in the sixth and singled in his lone at-bat. The 14th overall prospect is 9-for-32 (.281) this spring.
In other spring action:
Marlins 5, Red Sox 4 (Box)
Fifth-ranked Red Sox prospect Sam Travis hit his third spring homer, a two-run blast in the sixth off lefty Adam Conley, bumping his average up to .270. He ended an 0-for-9 slide after being held hitless in each of his previous three games. No. 23 prospect Bobby Poyner pitched around a walk in a scoreless ninth and lowered his spring ERA to 1.50. Nick Lovullo, the son of D-backs manager Torey Lovullo, singled in his lone at-bat for the Red Sox. Marlins top prospect Lewis Brinson was held hitless in three at-bats.
Padres 2, White Sox 0 (Box)
Padres No. 9 prospect Joey Lucchesi struck out four over three scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk. It was the third spring appearance for the left-hander, who has a spotless ERA in seven frames. White Sox No. 11 prospect Micker Adolfo and 18th-ranked Ryan Cordell both singled in three at-bats. No. 14 Luis Alexander Basabe doubled and struck out while getting the start in left field.
Blue Jays 8, Orioles 5 (Box)
Pedro Araujo, Baltimore's No. 29 prospect, surrendered two runs on two hits and a pair of strikeouts in one inning. Sixth-ranked Tanner Scott allowed one run on Kendrys Morales' leadoff shot in the eighth, the first run he's allowed in four innings this spring. Blue Jays No. 10 prospect Ryan Borucki set Baltimore down in order in the fifth before allowing an RBI double to Alex Presley in the sixth.
Twins 4, Rays 3 (Box)
Diego Castillo, the Rays' 29th-ranked prospect, coaxed two groundouts and a flyout in a perfect seventh. He's yet to give up a run this spring, allowing one baserunner while striking out five over five innings. Between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, Castillo went 4-5 with a 2.76 ERA in 51 appearances. He struck out 90 batters over 71 2/3 frames.
Pirates 5, Phillies 4 (Box)
The Pirates edged their intrastate rivals with help from No. 23 prospect Jordan Luplow, who delivered a solo homer and two sacrifice flies. Kevin Newman, the Bucs' No. 7 prospect, singled and stole his third base of the spring.
Dodgers 6, Royals 4 (Box)
Dodgers No. 12 prospect Edwin Ríos went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored, while 25th-ranked Kyle Farmer smacked a two-run blast to improve to 8-for-16 this spring.
Athletics 2, Brewers 0 (Box)
A's top prospect A.J. Puk allowed three hits and two walks while striking out two over three innings to get the win. The left-hander has not yielded an earned run in three Cactus League appearances. Fifth-ranked prospect Dustin Fowler contributed a pair of singles and scored a run.
Giants 10, Mariners 7 (Box)
Mariners No. 11 prospect Daniel Vogelbach stayed hot with a solo homer and two doubles. Second-ranked San Francisco prospect Chris Shaw clubbed a solo shot and drew a walk in two plate appearances.
Tigers 4, Mets 4 (Box)
Tigers No. 11 prospect Mike Gerber singled in his lone at-bat and Mets No. 16 prospect Corey Oswalt fired two scoreless frames, yielding one hit and one strike one. Mets 11th-ranked prospect Tomás Nido went 0-for-1 at the plate but picked Tigers baserunner Jason Krizan off second in the seventh inning.
D-backs 7, Royals 2 (Box)
Royals No. 19 prospect Meibrys Viloria singled and walked in two plate appearances.
Cubs 6, Angels 1 (Box)
Third-ranked Cubs prospect Oscar De La Cruz pitched a scoreless ninth inning, while No. 15 David Bote went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and an RBI single. Angels No. 7 prospect Jaime Barria struck out one in two perfect innings, while 10th-ranked Michael Hermosillo singled, stole a base and scored a run.
Astros 4, Cardinals 2 (Box)
Kyle Tucker, MLB.com's No. 16 overall prospect, roped a three-run triple in the seventh to cap a four-run inning and give Houston the lead for good.
Reds 6, Rangers 3 (Box)
Reds No. 5 prospect Tyler Mahle allowed one run on one hit over three innings, striking out two without issuing a walk in his longest outing of the spring.
